WiC Watches: Shadow and Bone season 1
Episode 5: “Show Me Who You Are”
Fans of romance and court intrigue are sure to devour “Show Me Who You Are,” which features the winter fete the previous episode alluded to. Despite the more serious tone of the earlier episodes, this one has a lighter, more upbeat feeling, at least until everything hits the fan at the very end. It’s also the only episode of the season that mostly takes place in one setting.
At the very beginning of Episode 5, the traveling troupe the Dregs have joined arrives at the Little Palace and immediately receive a stern warning about stirring up any trouble. (The “no guns, no knives” comment is particularly funny with Jesper and Inej standing right there.)
Other than that, they have little trouble entering the palace and immediately begin scoping the place out. In the end, they come up with a plan that involves all three of them and the Conductor: While the Conductor does the kidnapping, Kaz and Inej will clear a path for escape and Jesper will secure them a getaway carriage. The whole thing seems simple enough, so obviously it all goes wrong.
As they scheme, Alina and Genya enjoy the festivities around the winter fete, acting like two ordinary friends. Genya even owns up to having a crush on a Fabrikator named David; it all feels very normal. Their interactions feel true to Shadow and Bone‘s young adult roots, and set the stage for all the romance in the episode.
Not only does Jesper get caught up with one of the palace’s stable hands, but this episode delivers on the tensions building between Alina and the Darkling. From a sweet first kiss to a much steamier scene later, the two fully embrace whatever feelings are between them. Unfortunately, it’s too good to last.
For one, the Conductor turns on Kaz and his friends, revealing that he has his own agenda as regards the Sun Summoner; he also kills Marie, a Grisha who was given Alina’s faced and used as a double to protect her. News of the murder quickly makes its way through the palace, interrupting Alina’s moment with the Darkling. Though that may be for the good, considering what follows.
Mal’s arrival at the Little Palace also stirs up trouble, especially once he tells General Kirigan that he’s found the stag. Almost immediately after he shows up, a messenger tells Baghra of the development, and the woman’s assertion that “we cannot let him obtain that kind of power” is the first sign that something is horribly awry.
When she approaches Alina and tells her mentee that it’s time to escape the palace, it becomes clear that Kirigan has been manipulating Alina all along, and that he’s actually the very same Black Heretic the two of them discussed back in “Otkazat’sya,” the one who created the fold generations ago.
The reveal about Kirigan feels a bit rushed and underwhelming. Perhaps it’s because we already know something is up once Mal reveals he isn’t getting Alina’s letters, but with the series trying ts hard to portray the Darkling’s kinder side, this could have been a much more surprising development than it was. Alina’s response doesn’t feel nearly as emotional as it should, which brings down an otherwise seamless episode.
Still, the episode keeps viewers on edge, especially after Baghra’s students attempt to assassinate Mal, and Kaz and Inej have trouble finding their way out of the Little Palace. There’s plenty of action to top off “Show Me Who You Are,” and the episode brings all of the main characters together in a believable way (even if you have to question Alina choosing the climb into a random trunk as her method of escape).